MATRIX & REALITY, What equipment can link the two things? Options

[Kanada Ten]

[Luca]

SO, at the end, what's the solution for the Remote controll utility?
Using the module with the cyberdeck without any rigger deck?

[mfb]

that's what i would do.

[Luca]

ah, Ok I found the answer by myself.
Matrix page73 says that a decker needs remote control utility + rigger protocol emulation module + a device to link himself to the drones.
Possible links are: CCSS, wireless link & RIgger COntrol deck:
1) CCSS is not our case.
2) I do not understand so much the reference to wireless link (Is not any rigger'deck a wireless system?)
3) Rigger control deck is our case.

In any case the rigger protocol emulation module remains an option for rigger control decks which permits the rigger to infiltrate the networks or ccss of other riggers...it is not exactly teh option for the cyberdeck we are looking for!!
TO teh hell all this tremendous phanta-technology!!!

[mfb]

there is, in SR, no such thing as a wireless link to a drone that doesn't involve a remote control deck. so, yeah. you're basically stuck using an RC deck anyway, which makes the RC utility basically useless.

[Luca]

well it is not useless because it permits you to rig a drone while you are decking, in other words the decker could even play with the normal group through his drone.
Without the RC utility you cannot rig anything while you dive through the matrix.

[Necro Tech]

[Luca]

well, I've always supposed the the remote control deck too be a kind of radio.....so what's the difference between "wireless link
& Rigger control deck" which is written under the remote control utility description???
And again: do you use the rigger protocol emulation module as an option for the cyberdeck (and use it with a different meaning that the one stated in R3R?)?.

[mfb]

not according to R3, necro tech. it's crazy and senseless, but MSST is, according to R3 page 41, a "combination of specialized hardware and software components," so you can't use decks or radios to transmit it.

the RPEM should, under any sane GM, be allowed to connect to a cyberdeck, luca. there are no specific rules that say so, but since you're basically allowed to attach any electronic you want to your cyberdeck, and the RC program specifically mentions using an RPEM, it can be assumed that the RPEM can be plugged into a cyberdeck with little or no problem.

[hobgoblin]

the RPEM takes care of the hardware part of the MSST, the RC utility takes care of the software side, then you need something to transmitt the data over and in my view a radio should fit the bill nicely. mind you, it will only handle captains chair mode...

[Luca]

well, radio or remote control deck which has a flux rate of 2 (SR3 p.236) and it is, therefore, a kind of radio. I should say that you must use this and not the radio.

[mfb]

that's logical, yes. but if you want to follow the rules, you can't use a normal radio. if i were your GM, i'd allow you to do it--but i'm just saying, that's against the actual rules.

[hahnsoo]

It is difficult to use radio or wireless underwater, so underwater drones require a cable. You can rig just about any drone with a cable or a direct beam linkup (microwave, laser, etc.). The Remote Control Deck has built-in wireless, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you can ONLY use a wireless link to control drones.

[mfb]

right. i'm just saying, there's no rules for it. i completely agree that it makes sense, and i'd definitely allow a player to put together a system like that in any game i run. but the rigger and decker rules are really complex, so i just want to make sure it's clear that, by the book, the only way to communicate with a drone is through an RCD. otherwise, somebody might get confused.

[Luca]

OK, I've searched again in RIgger3 Revised.
Page44 under the label "Drones, robots & the Matrix"
It is stated that a decker wit ha remote control utility (p.73 Matrix) can control "drones or the components and drones of a rigged security system through the matrix, provided that a communications link has been established between the user and the drones or the security system. This link can be achieved through a wireless link (p.33 Matrix), CCSS or a rigger control deck hooked into the Matrix".
Ok if this is the official version of the thing I have still some doubts:

1) even if you have a wireless link (which is put here as an alternative to the RC deck) I think that the rigger control deck is a MUST. WIthout it how can you establish how many drones you can use? (the double of the rating according to SR3 p156)

2) The rigger protocol emulation module is useless, although mentioned in Matrix it is not mentioned in here....and at the end of the day, from its description page 98 of R3R it is clear that it is not the stuff mentioned in Matrix page 73 in the description of the RC utility (what the hell you do with the rating of this module if you use it to control drones from the matrix?)

3) What the hell you do with the RC utility rating (except resisting Tar Baby IC)??

4) Decking a CCSS was outside this topic but, because iot is comprehended: it seems form this paragraph that to access a CCSS you need only the RC utility in you deck an a jack to jack in. IN reality R3R in the following pages (50, 94, 98) says that you need your cyberdeck + system-control Rig Emulator (SCRE) (page 94) + rigger-protocol emulation module (page 98) + the RC utility (page 73 Matrix). Again: What the hell to you do with the rating of the RIgger-protocol emulation module?

[mfb]

1) you also need to know what rating wireless link is required to communicate with a drone--basically, how much Mp/s is required to maintain the three channels. this, and the reason you mentioned, is why i maintain that the rules don't support any form of drone control that doesn't involve an RC deck. sure, they say you can do it, but there aren't any real rules for it.

2) yep.

3) by the book, rating is unimportant.

4) the RPEM's rating is used in step 3 of "accessing a security system". check page 50 of R3.

[hahnsoo]

Even a rigger needs a Rigger Protocol Emulation Module to hack into a CCSS system. The RPEM does what it says: It emulates the protocols used to control drones and CCSS. The only time this really would be necessary is 1) If you don't have an RC deck and you are trying to perform RC functions or 2) You are trying to emulate someone else's rigger protocols (MIJI and CCSS).

I'd imagine that if you were trying to deck into drones hooked up to the Matrix that weren't your own, you'd need to use the RC Utility rating to lower the target number on the Slave test.

[Luca]

Hahnsoo
, I do not think your point n.1 works. The rigger protocol emulation module is an option of a RC deck, therefore it dos not substitutes the RC decl. I think that the description of the RC utility in matrix is wrong in asking this module (teh description of the module does not do what matrix talks about).
ANyone nees a RC deck if wants to know how many drones are in his subscriber list. I still do not understand why the DC deck should be substituted by a wireless link (R3R page 44).
I think your point n.2 is right.

[Luca]

DOes anyone know the email-address where to ask the official answers to questions to authors (the guys of WizKids/FanPro)?
It could be a good thing to what's the real way in which the things are done for all the links between matrix & Reality (radio, cams, simsense, drones, etc....). I think that this topic has only shown how much the matter is complicated and how much the manuals are unclear about something which is fundamental because it deals with the integration of the deckers with the other runners.

[Kanada Ten]

info@shadowrunRPG.com is the only way I know of.

[mfb]

i've already asked them this same set of questions, ~2 weeks ago.

[hahnsoo]

[Luca]

well, mfb, what was the answer then?

[DocMortand]

Remember that RPEM is used in Electronic Warfare - it's trying to twist itself into an OPPONENTs RCD so that you can take over someone elses drones or at least disrupt. So it's not really a RCD, it's pretending to be a seperate one.

From what I understand, a RCD has a broadcast unit which has the three major control frequencies - master, slave and control(?). [I'm doing this from memory, so feel free to correct if I'm not on target] So the necessary units for a RCD are the broadcast unit, the receiver unit, and control unit where most of the gear goes. Into this goes all the toys - encrypt, decrypt, EW of all types, RPEM, etc. etc.

[mfb]

no answer as of yet. i've got two other questions in the FAQ queue that haven't yet been answered, either (though one's been discussed), so i'm not looking to get a reply any time soon. they all deal with SR's technical rules, and SR's tech rules, as you've noticed, tend to conflict a lot in their most complex sections. i don't envy the FAQ guy.